Lake Laberge

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Lake Laberge is a Lake at Whitehorse YT, Canada

Lake Laberge is a long, cold widening of the Yukon River, north of Whitehorse in Canada’s Yukon. It stretches about 50 kilometres between low, forested hills. To many the name is oddly familiar, and for good reason. Robert Service immortalised it in "The Cremation of Sam McGee", the Gold Rush ballad whose narrator burns his friend’s body "on the marge of Lake Lebarge". Boats crossed it in their thousands during the Klondike stampede, bound for the goldfields downriver. Today it is quiet water, popular for fishing, canoeing and camping in the short summer, and frozen hard through the long winter. Whitehorse, just up the river, lies at around 61°N close beneath the auroral oval, one of the more reliable aurora regions in North America. Out on the dark shores of the lake, far from any glow, the northern lights are a frequent sight through the cold months, arcing over the ice and the black line of the hills.

Where to find Lake Laberge?

60°43'8"N, 135°3'25"W

Aurora hunting in Whitehorse?

The aurora season here runs from August to April, with the best chances of seeing the Northern Lights in September, October, February and March. With minimal light pollution, Lake Laberge could offer a dramatic backdrop for aurora viewing.

What do people think of Lake Laberge?

  • Wonderful display of nature.

    Paulo P31 March 2016

Other places to try near Lake Laberge